If you haven’t indulged in this particular cultural phenomenon I encourage you to check it out. If the first episode doesn’t grab you and make you want more then drop it. But most keep going.
I listened to all twelve episodes in two days and it is quite the fascinating program. Not sure how I feel about the particular case in general but definitely felt some major themes running through it that weren’t dealt with explicitly enough for my tastes:
The role of the police in only investigating a single direction.
- How important a motivated defense attorney is to a guilty/not guilty decision.
- Memory is a bitch – especially 15 years later.
- When do lies finally destroy your credibility?
These were all brought up but never really investigated (other than the second that was given a lot of attention but still felt generalized).
But for me, the reason I’m fascinated by shows like Serial is because they give us a unique opportunity to see what makes our colleagues, neighbors, friends and society at large tick. Who is focused on guilt vs. innocence? Who cares deeply about the flaws of the police interviews? Who pretends not to care because “justice was served by the courts”? It is this insight that makes this show so amazing.
I have seen some amazing blogs that break down statements and dig into all of the evidence with abandon. I have seen discussions around how the case itself doesn’t matter but when taken in context of police murders it opens up further opportunity for discourse on police interactions with suspects.
Ultimately I believe this show is going to set off a philosophical direction for thinking shows. The amazing thing about Serial is that it takes what could be a very ordinary situation (if murder can ever be called ordinary) and forces us to rethink the entire thing. It’s a giant microscope that seemingly is focused on Anand and Jay but is really focused on society to a very large degree.